Get Thee to a Book Group!
Over ten years ago my friend and former TBA member Larry Finkel invited me to join a book group. Larry was the only one I knew in the group that is composed of mostly doctors and lawyers. We meet every six to eight weeks for very good food, wine and discussion about the book selection. They are all great guys (it was and still is a MEN’s book group) but not a crowd that I would usually run with. Some of these guys work together, are neighbors, and vacation together. Unless I run into one of the members accidentally, I only see them at the book club meeting.
After about two years, Larry and his family moved back east. Larry’s departure not only deprived me of a good friend but also left me without an anchor in the book group. Well, about eight years and forty or so books later I still miss Larry but my participation in the group is going strong.
I attribute my continuation with the group to several things: our eclectic selection of books, the great discussions, the food, the wine and the relaxed feeling of the meetings. Also, I love to read. We read classics, modern fiction, dense non-fiction, political books, biographies and more. My favorites? I loved Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton, Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier, The Best and The Brightest by David Halberstam, Fathers and Sons by Turgenyev. But my top favorite has to be A Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Godwin. The book is about how Abraham Lincoln formed his cabinet with men who were his rivals for the presidency. It shows the political genius of Lincoln and how he gained his rival’s admiration and respect.
I read the book just before I became president of the shul. I do not presume to be Lincolnesque in my leadership nor is my situation similar to Lincoln’s but I found the book inspirational. I think about the book all the time. It is an excellent and fascinating study of remarkable leadership. I have learned a lot from the book.
As long as the book group stays together, and there are no signs of letting up, I’ll be a part of it. I always have a book with me. I’m excited that my commute just changed back from car to BART so my reading time has increased. Temple Beth Abraham has a book group. I know because I announce the meetings almost every week at shul. I highly recommend that you check out the TBA book group or form your own group.
About Volunteering
Most of my friends at Temple Beth Abraham volunteer. There’s a good chance that I met a lot of them while volunteering on an event, a committee or a project. Most of the time when I recognize someone at the shul that I may not know personally, it is because I saw her or him working a table or stuffing envelopes or raking sand in the playground. Volunteering is one of the most important things one can do for a community. On the flipside, providing volunteer opportunities is one of the most meaningful things a community can offer an individual. In that regard (as in many others) TBA has a lot to offer.
This issue of the Omer is all about volunteering. It is not our intention to badger you into volunteering more or to berate you for not volunteering enough. Nor is it to necessarily congratulate you on a job well done and tell you we’ll take it from here. The hope is that this issue of the Omer will give you some concrete ways to chip in to help the shul and share the benefits of volunteering. Starting this month, in fact, the Omer will have a volunteer bulletin board feature. The purpose of this page is to let members know how they can get involved with specific projects.
The main obstacle to volunteering, other than time, seems to be that most projects are too large and multi-faceted. True, chairing an event or project can be daunting but if that’s not for you there are always tasks that you can accomplish that support the main event. Chose something you like to do. If none of the tasks is appealing, pick something you can do easily and quickly. Every effort makes an impact. Ask an event chair if you can pick up balloons or put out centerpieces. Become a proofreader for the Omer. That’s a 3-4 hour a month commitment – not that hard to fit into even a busy month.
On May 18, the day of our Annual Meeting, we will dedicate the Kessler Parking Lot and Plaza and the Zatkin Elevator. As with all or events, this will be all volunteer run and supported. We will need someone to help with food, set up, guest coordination and ideas for format. As of today, March 10, we do not have a chair for this event. So if you want to volunteer for it, please send me an email at president@tbaoakland.org.
A great way to get involved, make an impact and meet people is to join one of the Schools committees. As kids move in and out of our education programs, opportunities for parents change. New people are always needed for those committees, especially the Gan Sub Committee. Please let Gan director Wendy Siver know if you would like to join this committee for the 2008/2009 school year.
Temple Beth Abraham is growing at an impressive clip every year. That means that we are delivering 30 to 40 welcome baskets each year. A great volunteer opportunity and a way to be one of the first “faces” of TBA is to deliver these welcome baskets. If you think you can deliver a basket every now and then, please contact Vice President for Membership Stacy Margolin.
So you see there a lot of focused opportunities out there right now. If any that I mentioned seem interesting, please reach out to one of us and we’ll set you up. I encourage you to check out the volunteer bulletin board in this Omer for other opportunities. If I haven’t met you yet, I look forward to doing so when you deliver my Purim basket or sign me into an event or pull weeds with me at the next Save The Bay event.
My Musical Memories
Music has always been a part of my Jewish life. It started with Jewish day camps in the summer and Sunday school during the year. The first song I remember learning was “David, Melach Yisrael” (chai, chai, vikiyom, Coca Cola ginger ale, hi, hi, pizza pie.) Yes, that one. But there were so many. Sometimes, during Rock and Roll Shabbat services I’ll page through one of the songbooks and hear all those great (varying degrees of great) songs in my head. As anyone who has gone to Jewish sleep away camp knows, the best part of the day, especially Shabbat, was the singing. At Camp Swig the entire community would gather on the Bima Lawn, clad in white (white overalls and a Hawaiian shirt for me -- ah, the seventies), arms around each other and sing Shabbat tunes.
I wanted to be a song leader. Song leaders were cool. They were the rock stars in our small temporary world. A lot of my friends had that role at camp. One of them was my friend Robin Taback. (I was actually a contemporary and closer friend to her sister Dori but considered Robin a friend.) Robin had a beautiful voice and a contagious energy. Robin continued her love of Jewish music through college studying voice and liturgy with a local cantor. She also sang professionally for Hillel and became the cantorial soloist for a synagogue in Los Angeles. Most of her melodies were written and recorded on audiotape during those years.
After our years at camp, I did not stay in touch with Robin or Dori. Sadly, in 1991, two years after making aliyah with her husband and two young sons, Robin died from breast cancer. It broke my heart when I heard this several years later. (I was reunited with Dori, who had also made aliyah, after I sent her an email during the war in the summer of 2006. Coincidentally, she was visiting in Berkeley so we met for coffee.) As a result of reuniting with my old friend, I was included on an email last month announcing a project to create a CD of music that Robin had written. The project is called Remember Robin and Relive Her Music. The songs will be recorded by contemporary Jewish folk and pop singers and proceeds of the sale of the CD will benefit the Israel Cancer Research Fund and Sharsheret, an organization in the United States that supports young Jewish women diagnosed with breast cancer. Please visit the website, www.robintaback.com for more information about Robin and the project and to contribute and purchase a CD.
When I think of Jewish music, I think of Robin and my other song leader friends. I think of huddled groups of teens singing nigunim and others quietly play the beat on drums. (I’m not kidding, this was the seventies.) We are very blessed at Temple Beth Abraham with a rabbi who is so musically inclined, a cantor who is so spiritually rich and with the voice of an angel and congregants who are talented singers and musicians. The rest of us with modest musical skills (everyone has at least modest musical skills) can join in any time or just close our eyes and let the music wash over us.
What’s Next? Phase 3!
In a recent Omer article, in my speech on Rosh Hashanah, and practically anytime one spends more than a few minutes with me, I talk about Phase Three of the Centennial Project. Phase Three loosely refers to the creation of classroom space for the Bet Sefer and a courtyard that would connect to the Social Hall. Phase Three would take place in the area now occupied by the two houses at #333 and #341 MacArthur Blvd. In addition to the two houses, the space features two front yards, two backyards and three driveways. The potential to be creative with that much real estate is immense.
What about the two houses? The condition of the two houses is not good. #333 MacArthur, the uphill property (closest to the sanctuary), is in very poor condition and most likely a total loss. Next door, #341 MacArthur is in a little better shape but still several hundred thousand dollars away from being habitable. Neither house displays architectural features that would warrant preservation. It is not in our best interest to have two derelict houses on our property. Something needs to be done with the houses - and soon.
The architectural firm of Herman and Colliver, with whom we worked on Phase One and Phase Two of the Centennial project, has sketched out a modest building/courtyard/parking plan to utilize the space. For about a year, that plan has been what we’ve envisioned for those lots. It features 5 classrooms, including one large enough to be a multi-purpose room, bathrooms, and an office. But as we begin to come back to earth after the first two phases (as I write this the elevator is not yet complete) I feel it is necessary to query the membership about how we might meet our goals for the space.
First, I want to lay out what I think we must accomplish on the lots: 1) We need at least 5 classroom spaces for Bet Sefer. 2) Our Bet Sefer Director needs (and I should say, deserves) a decent office. 3) We should have an outdoor space large enough for a well-attended Friday night Shabbat service or Saturday afternoon Kiddush. 4) More bathrooms (need I say more?) It would also be great to have a few more parking spaces, a basketball half-court, and some additional storage.
Phase Three, as conceived by the architects and vetted by the Centennial Committee, meets all of these criteria. While modest in scope, it would be a beautiful addition to TBA and, as you can see from the rendering below, would achieve a much better flow from building to building giving us a more integrated campus. It also comes with a price tag of about $3 million dollars.
Are there other options for the space? We have discussed at least two other ideas within the Centennial Committee. One is to renovate one or both of the houses. (As I said before, #333 is not worth it, so this option is really to rehabilitate only one, # 341). We could create an office and enough classrooms to meet our needs. We could then demolish the other house and create the courtyard. We don’t have figures on this plan but I would guess it’s in the neighborhood of $1 to $2 million. Another option is to demolish both houses, grade the property and lease portable structures for the Hebrew School.
A rough cost on that temporary solution, say five years, is about $300,000-$500,000. Of course based on recent experience, all these costs can go up or down (less likely) based on scope and a variety of other factors.
There are many considerations beyond the cost of the project. We want a space that will be aesthetically pleasing. If we’re going to invest more time and money, we want something that will last for generations. While we are in dire need of the space right now, we want room to grow.
Each of these ideas will require commitment and financial sacrifice from the membership. Many members have been wonderfully generous towards the Centennial Project. Many have not even been asked to contribute. Yet.
I want to acknowledge that a lot of time, energy, and thought has already gone into this process. Thank you to those who have participated thus far. Now I want to know your thoughts. I feel it is important to do something and do it now, and am open to any and all new ideas. Please email them to me or call me. I will collect ideas and share them with Rabbi Bloom, Sandy Margolin, and the Centennial Committee.
Ultimately the question is, do we take on the important work now and build what will last for generations or do we pass the burden on to the next generation?